Monday, June 10, 2019

How do lies like this happen?

Last week it was reported locally that a Dutch teenager was assisted to end her life. This was grasped by the end of life bill opponents in this country. I heard a little of the discussion on Magic Talk and turned it off tired of hearing people who want to run my life when I am quite happy to leave them be.

As it happens the report was incorrect. The girl died because she refused to eat and drink. Not uncommon for anorexics. She had been rejected from an end of life medical centre.

A little more searching answers my own question (and I've updated my original link). It appears a suspect source promulgated the original news story.

"According to multiple sources at British national newspapers, news outlets were alerted to the story by the newswire Central European News, which specialises in supplying unusual and quirky foreign stories to English-language news outlets.

CEN, which has previously been accused of providing unreliable information, did not immediately return a request for comment."

1 comment:

Mark Hubbard said...

Amen to your first paragraph, Lindsay. I turned Peter Williams off last week (guarantee another Xian reactionary there, but dishonestly never disclosed the fact: but his argument against euthanasia was that of the bully, and full of contradictions: he believes we're 'supposed' to die naturally: well okay, don't take any Western medicines, no anti-cancer drugs, nothing to ward off virus, certainly no pain killers - opiates aren't 'natural'.

The first two callers, especially the woman, second, however, were exceptional.

Anyway, the Dutch girl story was simply indicative of the low point our subjective, ill-researched (ill-disciplined) fourth estate has fallen to. Although the lie it ended up peddling will be what the Xian MP's shamelessly peddle in parliament over next fortnight as David Seymour's bill comes up for its second reading.

This doesn't need debating in a free country based on a written constitution enshrining individual rights - which I once thought was the conservative ethic (I don't any more). The against camp, bullies all of them, and liars, disgust me.

More power to your arm, however, Lindsay.